Silent Tale
by Enker
Summary: Dante, a young English player of the popular card game 'Duel Monsters' travels across the ocean after recieving an invitation to play the American champ. What awaits him however is something far more challenging.
1. Chapter 1

_NOTE: Whilst the characters and story line ties in directly to the Japanese subtitled version of the TV show, the card names are taken from the English language game itself, due to the hap-hazard translation of the subtitles. The effects or types of these cards may vary between nations, but it shouldn't get in the way too much. I am trying to write an ongoing series set during the Doom saga to give a slightly different take on events. This does not however conflict with what Yugi and the others are going through at any point and is designed to have played out behind the scenes. A story-that-never-was, if you will, hence the title 'Silent Tale'. Any questions of comments please send them to __ and I will endeavour to answer them ASAP. I am interested in people's ideas on what should happen next so feel free to send them along._

**SILENT TALE: Part 1**

_By Ben Warren_

The YZ-Tank Dragon eliminated Dante's Magic Swordsman and struck his life points for 1100, leaving him with a mere 500 points left. The image of the armoured figure wavered for a moment and then shattered into a million pieces, leaving a distressingly low amount of monsters left to defend his side of the field. Having just invoked Shadow Spell to cripple his Black Luster Soldier, the opponent declared the end of his turn. Smiling smugly, he indicated that he had one card remaining in his hand that would seal the game come his next turn. It stood to reason that with the Tank Dragon on the field the pivotal card would be the final piece of it's transformation into a powerful warrior.

Dante couldn't let him get that far.

His hand consisted of Giltia the Dark Knight, Gaia the Fierce Knight and Primal Seed, but no monsters below five stars. On the field lay a single face down monster and his crippled Luster, which meant that he couldn't summon any additional defence in this turn unless he could draw one now. With another monster on it's way to his opponent's field next turn, he had to get something out or risk loosing the duel, and his reputation to boot.

"Draw!" he announced, pulling a single card up from his deck, he turned it around to face him and a flicker of doubt crossed his face. His opponent, seeing such a look whooped in joy and lent forwards to tease him.

"What's the matter? English champion got a bad hand?" he sneered.

Dante placed the card he had drawn in amongst his hand and waited for the other man to finish talking calmly before he started to play.

"I invoke the spell card Primal Seed!" he yelled and threw the card face up onto his area. "This card allows me to take any two cards from outside of the game and place them into my hand when I have a Black Luster soldier in play." He indicated a pile of some fifteen cards that lay to his right. His opponent had been using Soul Release to cut down his options early in the game, trying to stop him summoning Black Luster onto the field of battle. "I will take Protector of the Throne and Guardian of the Labyrinth." He called out, as he retrieved the cards.

"A desperate move from a desperate man." The other sneered and lent back in his seat. "Neither of those monsters has the power to take down my invincible tank deck."

"And I will play this card." Dante smiled and flicked the one he had just drawn face up. "Polymerisation! Combining the cards I just returned to create this!" he slapped another card onto the field and watched as his opponent shrunk back in a mixture of terror and surprise. "Giltia the Dark Knight!"

The field flickered for a moment, and the imposing figure of an armoured knight brandishing an ornate staff appeared in face up attack position.

"An impressive move, but his attack is only 1850, how do you plan to defeat my Tank with something as weak as that?"

"I don't." Dante's hand wavered over the covered monster card and then flipped it face up. A small figure with a parlour magician's hat and a manic grin appeared and pounced across the field. "Trap master destroys your Shadow Spell!" he yelled.

The chains holding the black-clad knight vanished as he roared in challenge, drawing a viscous looking blade and stepping forwards in anticipation of the next command that it somehow knew Dante would say. "Black Luster, attack YZ-Tank Dragon."

The opponent's monster shattered spectacularly under the superior attack of the black knight, and the remaining damage hit the opponent's life points for enough to reduce him to just over a thousand. "Now Giltia, attack him directly!"

The remaining knight sent his life points to zero, and his opponent screamed in rage.

This battle was over.

Dante left the arena before the crowds could catch up with him. It had been a month since he had come over to America in order to participate in the duels there, but still he had not fought it out with the one who had invited him and that was starting to bother him.

The American champion, Rebecca. She'd asked him over some time ago, but then had mysteriously vanished from the public eye. Disappointed, Dante had decided to stick around to play through some of the smaller tournaments whilst he waited for her to show up, but so far he'd not heard anything.

A tall boy for his age, with short cut white hair and slim features. He was about eighteen years old and had been playing Duel Monsters for only a short while. He'd first leant about the game through a friend, who had imported cards early into the country before they had officially been released and found that he had a talent for the game. When it had been translated into English he had set about constructing a deck themed to his own personal passion – the knights templar.

His deck had fast become the strongest and most powerful around back home, and coupled with his keen mind for tactics, he had risen in rank until finally winning away the title of champion from the current holder. A viscous match against a pure fiend-type deck, he could still remember the deciding conflict, where Black Luster had fought it out with the Ultimate Obedient Fiend. It had been an intense fight between knight and devil, but ultimately he'd won through, claiming both the victory and the title.

Black Luster Soldier had become his trademarked card since that day, victory was almost always within his grasp as long as this was still hovering in play.

And then there was the _other_ card . . .

Dante flicked through his deck and pulled it out, laying it down before him and just staring at it. The card was named Tius the Holy Knight, and was stared at the max possible rating of three sacrifices. Despite looking all over the net for mention of it, and through the volumes of text that had recently began to spring up about the collectors value of Duel Monster cards, it was nowhere to be found.

In a moment of clarity he had even thought to write to the creator of the game, Pegasus, but all he had received was a small note from the company saying that he was unavailable at the present time.

Attack and defence were both marked at exactly 4000, and the special effect was to raise the attack of all warrior or spellcaster type cards currently in play by 1000.

He'd found it one evening, resting on the edge of his bed. When he had questioned his parents about where it had come from they claimed not to know either, and assumed that he had gotten it in a booster pack some time and forgotten about it. Confused, Dante had just accepted that explanation and continued on with playing the game. But the mystery remained.

Such a powerful card must be mentioned somewhere. But so far nothing had turned up.

Dante had never played this card in a duel. He wasn't even sure that he should, but he held onto it in the belief that someday it would make it's meaning clear.

"Look!" Someone yelled from behind him, and he turned his gaze to the sky, following that of the other person.

In the sky above them, there was an odd flickering light, almost like that of the northern lights. But America didn't have anything like that did it? Sure enough it was there though.

Hailing a Taxi, Dante made to return to his hotel.

His room was sparse, despite the fact that he had been living there for a while now. Clothes were folded back away into the suitcase once they had been cleaned, and only his spare cards were lain out on the small glass table. He liked to sit up in the evenings and read, but when he needed to clear his mind Dante would rummage through his cards, seeking solace in the creation of new and more efficient combos.

He was a little homesick to tell the truth, but was determined that he would stick around long enough to face Rebecca in battle. They said she was really something.

They'd only ever met face to face once, she'd been in the audience at one of his matches back home, then spoken to him afterwards. The two of them had sat in a restaurant and shared lunch, talking over tactics and the thrill of the game.

Apparently she had flown over there with her grandfather, who was researching into possible connections between English mythology and that of the ancient Egyptians. From the sound of it he had theorised that a group of pilgrims had come west early in the development of the culture and influenced a few of the more common beliefs.

It all sounded rather far-fetched to tell the truth, and Rebecca obviously felt the same or she wouldn't have taken the time out to come see him play.

"You're pretty good," she had commented between mouthfuls. "The second best I've ever seen."

"Really?" he had replied through a mouthful of potato, "Who was the best?"

She'd grinned a little and smoothed over the subject pretty fast, but it sounded like she'd fallen pretty hard for whoever the lucky guy was. He hadn't pushed the matter though, but in hindsight he wished that he had. Duelling strong opponents was a large part of the lifestyle they lived by, if she thought that this guy would give him a run for his money he would jump at the challenge.

She'd left him her card, telling him that she would be entering a tournament in America some time in the next few weeks and would like to have the chance to duel him some time. He said he would be there and they had agreed to meet up, even set a time and a date.

Dante flicked on the laptop and searched his inbox for mail. Aside from the usual selection of game flyers and friendly contacts, there was nothing.

"Darn." He murmured, "you'd think a girl could write."

He was about to turn the computer off again when it chimed and announced that he had just received a new message. Looking closely, he was surprised to see that the sender came up as a blank.

"What the?" he commented, and clicked open the message. There was nothing there except a video file. Filled with a sudden interest, Dante clicked to view it.

It took a moment for the video to launch, but when it did the face of a man in his late twenties flickered onto the screen. His long white hair and thin face were instantly recognisable as that of Pegasus, creator of Duel Monsters.

He looked drawn and haggard, tired out perhaps, but with an edge of panic to him. Not at all like the bright, almost comical figure that he had come to associate with the game.

"Dante-boy." The video started, and made him jump a little. "I am using the last of my free time tonight to send you a reply to the letter your wrote me last year." Pegasus spread his hands onto his lap and looped the fingers there, his every move seemed natural enough, but his eyes kept darting to something out of shot. It was as if he were waiting for someone to arrive at any moment and catch him doing something he shouldn't be.

"I don't have much time, so I want you to listen carefully and then delete this message from your hard drive. If a certain third party discovers that you have a card equal to only three others in the history of the game, you will be the subject of much unwanted attention. Hide Tius away where nobody can find it and keep it safe until you receive another message from me. You mustn't use him in combat unless it is absolutely necessary, he hasn't been tested."

That surprised Dante a little. He knew that some cards were more powerful than others, but he hadn't expected them to need testing. Pegasus was talking about them as if they were dangerous – Duel Monsters was only a game wasn't it?

"What makes Tius special?" the question came from the video, Pegasus was speaking again. "That's probably what you want to ask me right? Well Dante-boy, I can only give you a hint as to that. Look into the events of a tournament held in Domino, Japan. You'll find some of the answers in the records of the match, and it's prizes."

Dante's brow wrinkled. Battle City? He'd heard about it, but had been unable to attend for personal reasons. What had the winner gotten?

The video ended, and Dante watched it through one more time before deleting the file and closing down his computer. He paused for a moment before rebooting it and searching for the records on Battle City.

A list of events and contenders flashed up, it was interesting to note that Rebecca hadn't duelled there either. Perhaps she had been called away with her grandfather on another of his wild goose chases?

The winner was listed, as were the four runners up. But he was only really interested in the prize, not the contestants. He couldn't find much out about this, despite the many sites that appeared to have been hosting details. Finally he hit upon one that had recorded footage of the semi-final duel.

Punching it up, the video began to play. Seto Kaiba, president of the Kaiba Corporation was fighting a shorter spiky haired kid named Yugi. According to the rules of the tournament, every player gained a rare card upon victory from his opponent, so this should be quite the epic duel. He had been meaning to look it up for some time, but everybody on the Duel Monsters circuit knew the final result of the battle anyway, Yugi now carried the title 'King of the Duellers'.

The fight went on for a short while, and then two giant monsters were summoned and Dante almost fell off of his seat in shock.

"So _those_ are the God cards . . ." he whispered to himself.

Osiris, Obelisk and Ra. The three most powerful cards ever to grace the game.

Pegasus' words filtered back to him, _a card equal to only three others_. Dante looked down at Tius, his hands trembling. "No way . . ." he breathed.

Had this been what Pegasus was talking about? A fourth God Card? No, he reasoned. But something close to that, perhaps a card that came before them. A test to see if such a powerful card could exist.

Dante found that his hands were shaking. Carefully he watched to end of the duel and then switched off the computer in silence. He got himself a glass of water and drunk it down without thinking, then moved back across to the window.

The strange lights still fluttered in the sky. Something similar had been reported in Japan a few weeks ago and had been accompanied by the sudden appearance of monsters in the sky. But that had been explained away as a malfunction in the KC holographic network hadn't it? Admittedly Seto had denied it violently on the news, but it was the most logical answer.

But what if it wasn't?

Was Duel Monsters just a game?

Dante returned to his deck and browsed through the cards, coming to rest finally on Black Luster Soldier. It had a calming effect on him, as this card always did. After deliberating a moment, he reached out and tucked Tius into the deck as well. Then went to bed to try and sleep.

The next day nothing happened, there were no more e-mail messages and no duels set up. It was a Wednesday, and he had nothing to do except brood over the events of last night.

Deciding that it was best to leave the hotel and get some fresh air, he wondered through the streets a while, coming to rest in a park not too far away. Settling down onto a bench, he watched the children playing Duel Monsters and felt a little of the tension slipping away.

Of course it was just a game, what had he been thinking last night? Those Japanese people had a tendency to get far too involved with their games, it stood to reason they took it so seriously. Pegasus' message could be construed in a great many ways, what he was probably hinting at was that if he flashed around the rare card someone would try and steal it.

The children laughed and played, and Dante began to settle into watching them.

"You look depressed." Someone came up behind him and just stood there, a female from the sound of the voice. "Something on your mind?"

Dante turned to look at the newcomer, she was a pretty woman in her late teens. He smiled and indicated the vacant side of the bench, inviting her to sit down. She did so and he got a better look at her. She had long dark hair that platted down her back and freckles about her nose. The term 'cute' could be applied to her with ease, and she seemed concerned with his well being.

"Wanna talk about it?" she offered.

Dante shrugged, "It's not that big a deal." He assured her. "Have I seen you around somewhere before?" he asked.

She nodded her head enthusiastically and pointed back to the hotel. "I work at the hotel you're staying in – room service." She tapped the side of her nose conspiratorially. "I'd have said hi sooner, but the management like to keep the staff on their toes."

That was right, not that he thought about it he could picture her dressed in the little uniform the hotel provided. She was always scurrying around corners when he came near.

"You're quite the talk of the place." She nudged him playfully in the ribs, a surprisingly familiar gesture coming from a stranger, but he found it sweet. "Real live Englishman staying in our hotel. I noticed the cards on your table when I was cleaning, you here to play?"

He nodded, "yeah I am."

She grinned and pointed to the children out on the grass, one of them was smashing up his opponent's life points with a Baby Dragon. "That's about as good as I get when it comes to cards, I just collect them for the pretty pictures."

"Nothing wrong with that, lots of people do it back home." He assured her.

"I wanna be an artist when I get some money together," she confided in him. "I heard that Pegasus painted all of the pictures on the cards himself, is it true?"

"Far as I know."

She seemed heartened by this and stretched out on the seat. "Cool!" she commented and then bounced up to her feet, dragging him up with her. "I'm starving. Common, I know this great place for lunch around here and it's real cheap."

Dante brushed himself down and looked at her, was this girl for real?

"My name is Tanya by the way." She added as they strode off.

"Dante." He replied, following along in a daze.

Lunch was short and sweet. Sweet because of the company and the good food, short because someone had recognised Dante and the pair of them had been swamped by fans eagerly wanting an autograph.

To his surprise, he found that the two of them were getting along rather well. He hadn't made many friends since coming over to the states, but Tanya's easy going attitude put him at ease. He found that he was actually having fun.

All thoughts of last night were erased from his mind.

It wasn't until he returned home to the hotel, and found an envelope pushed under his door that he began to think about cards at all. Opening it he found a note inside from the owner of the hotel, asking him if he would be interested in a friendly game that evening. It stated a time and a place within the building, and had a number to call if he wanted to decline.

After such a great day he decided that a little duel wasn't any great push, and agreed to go.

He spent the rest of the afternoon soaking away in the bath and relaxing with his book before gathering his deck together and making his way down to reception, where he would be given instructions as to where to go next.

The lady behind the counter pointed him to the small private elevator in the corner of the lobby, and assured him that it would take him up to the owner's office with little trouble. Smiling his thanks Dante boarded without a word and punched the button for the top floor.

Inside the office was clean and well furnished. A large desk beside a window dominated the room, which was lavishly decorated. A small flight of stairs led up to the rooftop beyond, and as there was nobody inside the office, Dante assumed that was where he was supposed to go.

The evening sky was at that beautiful moment between night and day, when a bright colour somewhere between orange and red streaked the cityscape. The roof itself was flat, except for a raised section that marked out a duelling arena and the barriers that prevented people from toppling over the side of the building and down the thirty stories to street level.

"Ah, Mr Dante." A tall man with a well-tailored suit, long light green hair and oddly mismatched eyes greeted him. "I have been waiting for you."

Dante crossed the distance between them quickly and extended a hand, which the other took and shook with a firm handshake. "Pleased to meet you Mr . . . ?"

The other smiled and nodded his head "Dartz."

"Pleased to meet you Mr Dartz."

"I have been watching your career with some interest Mr Dante. It appears that you have quite a talent for the game, learning in moments what takes others years to master."

Dante nodded his head in silent agreement, and listened politely. He liked this guy, he was brisk and to the point, despite the fact that he tended for the melodramatic. Dante liked to keep a neutral poker face most of the time. It helped to confuse his opponents.

"Please, step this way." Dartz indicated the arena and the two of them took up their positions at opposite sides of the playing field. "I presume that you brought your standard deck?" the man asked. Dante nodded, "Good. Then I want to place a wager on this game of ours. I suggest that we play by Battle City rules for the duration of your stay here."

"Battle City?"

"Indeed, should I loose to you I will have to give away my trump card. However should you loose . . . I will expect to be given the Tius card you carry around in your deck."

Dante's shock was evident, and his hand shot to his card pile, pulling it up and tucking it away inside of his jacket. How could this guy possibly know about Tius?

Alarm bells were ringing in his head, they told him to back out, pack up and leave. This guy was dangerous, possibly even the thing that had Pegasus so scared. He would follow the man's advice, and run like hell.

"You're thinking about Pegasus' warning?" Dartz stated simply, his arms folded. "I wouldn't bother, he's no longer in the picture."

"What?"

Dartz held up a small object, it looked like a card but it had the image of Pegasus' face drawn onto it. Something told Dante that this was not an ordinary card, and just looking at it sent a shiver down his spine. Something bad had happened to Pegasus, and this man was gloating over it.

"His soul." The elder man announced proudly. "One of several I now possess. Trapped away within cards just like this one."

"You stole his soul?" Dante repeated, his voice a whisper. Everything that had been said so far seemed impossible, and yet . . . Pegasus has seemed so scared the other night, and had warned him that he would be in danger. Not to mention that this Dartz person was radiating a frightening presence now that hadn't been there a moment ago.

"And I will steal yours now unless you duel me." Dartz promised.

"Why . . . why do you want Tius?"

Dartz threw back his head and laughed, a cruel sound. "Maybe I have overestimated you Dante. It seems that your not as sharp as I gave you credit for."

"I won't do it! I won't give you Tius!" The words were out of his mouth before he had the chance to think them through properly, but he realised that that was exactly the way he felt. He'd never hand over his trump card to a man such as this.

Dartz took a step forwards across the arena and held out one hand, as if expecting Dante to just give it to him. "Oh yes you will boy. One way or another."

A monster appeared on the playing field beside him, Dante recognised it as an Inferno. The monster moved slowly towards him, could actually _feel_ the heat from it's flaming form as it drew closer.

This shouldn't be possible, he told himself, its just a hologram. But it wasn't, it had already moved past the edge of the arena where it should have vanished and was pushing him to the edge of the rooftop. The heat was intense.

"Give me the card." Dartz repeated for the last time.

"Never!" Dante yelled and made a break for the doorway leading back into the office. But he was cut off half way by another Inferno monster and found himself pinned between two of them.

He couldn't let this man have the card. He didn't know why, but he just _knew_ that he had to keep it away from him at all costs. If he got hold of Tius, then something terrible would happen. Screwing up his hands into fists, Dante dashed towards the edge of the rooftop and jumped.

He fell two, three stories before hitting something that bounced him a short distance to the left. Then his arm grazed something metal and automatically he gripped tight. The force of stopping his momentum pulled the arm out of the socket, and he almost let go – he definitely cried out in agony. But his sheer will to live made him hold on.

Stumbling up onto the small iron ledge, he realised that he had snagged the fire escape. A quick glance up at the rooftop he had left behind told him that Dartz had seen him do so, because one of the infernos had leapt down from the rooftop and with a sickening impact that rocked and bent the metal, landed a little way below him on the fire escape.

The monster closed in on him, and Dante stumbled back until he had nowhere to run – pressed up against a secure glass window that he had no hope of breaking.

The monster roared and threw itself at him, and Dante realised with a certainty that shocked him that he was going to die. Worse – that despite his best efforts Dartz was going to get the card.

He scrunched his eyes shut and waited to be set alight by the monster, he could already feel the heat of the thing as it drew ever closer. Suddenly the window behind him slid opened with a click and slim hands pulled him through backwards.

Tumbling into the hotel room behind, the window was slammed shut and somebody helped him to his feet.

"Are you alright? What the hell is that thing?!" A woman's voice yelled and Dante realised that it was Tanya, garbed in her working uniform with her hair up she looked quite different.

"No time to explain," he gripped her arm tightly and pulled her after him. "We have to get out of here NOW!"

They ran through the corridors and down out via the stairs, Dante to scared of the idea of being trapped inside the confines of such a small space with that thing after him to even hear Tanya's pleas in favour of the lift.

Breaking through the lobby as racing speed, half pulling half carrying her along with him and out through the big double doors and into the streets.

"Have we shaken it?" he called back to her.

Tanya looked up at the rooftop for a sign of the monster "It's not on the fire escape!" she yelled, and they rounded the corner into a narrow alleyway. Dante would have been happy to keep running, but Tanya pulled hard on his arm and the resulting pain caused him to stop.

"I am not moving another inch until you tell me what's going on!" she squealed.

Dante slipped down to his knees and sat down, panting for breath. "Your boss tried to kill me . . ." he managed after a moment. "He wanted . . . a rare card . . . I own."

Tanya made a face and fluttered one hand into the sky "Oh please! You expect me to believe that someone would want to kill you over a card game?" she put her hands on her hips and looked down at him "And what was that thing chasing you anyway? Why were you outside the window?"

"I jumped off the roof to escape it, and it followed me." He confessed.

"Well that was pretty stupid, that's thirty floors up!"

"I know." He stated simple, still unsure about why he was so adamant that Dartz not get the card, even if it meant risking his own life to do it.

"And the monster?" she prompted. "Where did it come from?"

"He summoned it up somehow, I don't know." Dante shook his head, his breath was coming back at last. Thinking over the past few minutes in his head, he replayed everything and still couldn't see how he had done that. It wasn't humanly possible. Had it actually happened?

There was a slight noise, like something light falling not too far away.

"What was that?" Tanya asked, getting jumpy.

Something fell down from the sky and landed a few inches from her foot, a piece of tile that was smouldering and melted from exposure to some kind of extreme heat.

As one man the two of them looked up. There, nestled amongst the rooftops were the two Infernos. They dropped down to street level, and quickly moved to block the one exit to the alleyway – trapping the pair of them inside.

Tanya screamed as they drew closer and Dante tried to push her behind him, not that it would do much good. They would be turned to ash in seconds if one of them actually touched them.

One of the Infernos opened it's mouth to make a noise, but shattered into a thousand pieces, a look of mixed horror and surprise on it's face. The second turned to look at its fellow, then suffered a similar fate, vanishing with a spectacular shattering effect.

Dante looked up to see a young man, standing at the open end of the alleyway. He had long white hair and a duel-plate attached to one arm.

"This way quickly!" he called to them, and without thinking they followed their rescuer back out onto the streets and across the quiet road.

He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and used them to start the engine of a small red open-top car parked there. Stripping the Duel-plate from his arm, he tossed it onto the back seat and motioned for them to get it.

Pulling away, he sped down the road. Dante didn't breathe out until they were well away from the hotel, and out of sight from the madman on the rooftop there.

Tanya lent across from the back seat and put a hand on his shoulder, checking his arm for injury. He'd pulled something when he had gripped the fire escape, and it hurt like hell when she did so, but he let her touch and prod it until she made the decision that he needed to go to a hospital.

The other man spared a look up from the road ahead and glanced at him briefly before announcing "You'll heal" and returning his attention to driving.

"Thanks for helping us back there, we were really in trouble." Tanya addressed their saviour for the first time since the rescue.

"Don't mention it." He murmured cautiously, his eyes never leaving the road.

"My name's Tanya, this is Dante." She introduced.

"You guys are lucky I was in the neighbourhood." He spoke directly to Dante, ignoring the unasked question about his name. "You're not American are you?" he asked.

Dante shook his head, "No, I'm English. But judging from your accent neither are you. Japanese?" he ventured a guess, this man's voice held the same singing tones as other gamers he had encountered from that region.

The man nodded, easing off the accelerator a little and moving them into the normal flow of traffic. "Where to?" he asked simply.

"My place, there is stuff there I am going to need to pick up – and a medical kit for Dante there." Tanya chirped in from the back.

"Then I'll need directions." The other man stated simply. "Looks like we're going to be stuck together for quite a while. My name is Bakura." He added with a sly grin.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .


	2. Chapter 2

SILENT TALE: PART 2 – Ben Warren

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Dante sipped his tea and grimaced, it wasn't that it was hot, or that it was too sweet, but there was something fundamentally wrong with it. The taste was comparable to brown mud. Still it was the best he was going to get, and he was thankful for it. They were held up at Tanya's apartment, she'd bandaged his arm and put it into a sling, then prepared a sparse meal from what was left in the fridge for the three of them.

He figured it was best to lay as low as possible until they knew what to do next. It appeared that Dartz hadn't followed them, so for now they were safe.

Across from him Bakura sipped his own cup of tea and went through a series of facial motions that would have been considered funny on anyone else, but on him looked strangely menacing. The guy had rescued them from a monster, that much was certain, but Dante still wasn't sure about which side he was on. There was something . . . wrong about him.

"This tastes like crap." He commented and set the cup back down onto the little glass table between them. "How does she make it so badly? Is it some kind of skill."

Dante was inclined to agree with him on that one, but he didn't want to hurt Tanya's feelings by saying it. A sentiment that Bakura obviously didn't share. Out of pure spite he forced himself to take another deep swig of the brown liquid, as if to prove to himself that he wasn't like this other man.

"I found it!" A happy call from the bedroom was shortly followed by Tanya as she came bounding back through the doorway with a small chest-like box in her arms. She set it down on the table in front of Dante and then flopped down on the couch next to him. "I'm afraid that my selection's rather limited. I only kept the ones that I liked the artwork on."

Dante reached inside and drew out a handful of cards, quietly he started to shuffle through them. Bakura lent across from his side of the table and scooped out a few, inspecting them with a crude eye for a moment before tossing them back into the box and leaning back again.

"These are all useless." He stated simply.

"Like I said, limited selection." Tanya stuck her tongue out at Bakura, a childish gesture that made her face look cuter than normal.

He had to agree with the comment though, a lot of these cards were useless to him. Few were of any significant use in any deck, let alone one as specialised as his. Fewer still had either an effect or a value of over 1000 attack of defence.

After rescuing them the Japanese guy had explained that the only way to fight against the monsters sent after them by Dartz was to use the warriors stored within his own deck. Apparently Bakura was privy to the same kind of power this Dartz fellow had, and he seemed to think that Dante could do it too.

Trouble was that he'd left all his spare cards back at the hotel, and his deck was untested in this current format. True it was a variation on the same one he always carried but . . .

Bakura and the girl were bickering over something, like children he thought. He could make out a vaguely insulting reference to her tea and her retort about his hair cut before blocking it out as best he was able and continuing to rifle through the cards.

Not a warrior or a spellcaster in sight. He had to admit he was a little disappointed, but then he hadn't been expecting too much.

For a moment Dante wavered before shuffling back to a card he had seen earlier, it wasn't going to fit in with the theme of his deck but . . . it might some in handy. Quietly he shuffled the card into his deck and flicked through to Tius.

_Don't use it._ That was what Pegasus had told him. _Don't even let anyone know you have it._

Well someone certainly did know, and Dartz was defiantly trying to take the card by any means available to him. If he had to kill them then so be it.

Dante didn't know why, but he wasn't going to wait around to find out.

Run and hide, that was the plan.

He'd always thought that Duel Monsters was just a game, but it appeared that there was something far more sinister and very real behind it all. Had he known the stakes he doubted that he would even have started to play, let alone turned professional.

Now he was stuck all of the way out in America, with a girl he had just met and a stranger who seemed to be undecided as to what to do with their company. So very far from home . . .

"Common guys cut it out." He broke it up as quickly as possible.

"He started it." Tanya commented, "I'm going to bed. Guess I'll let you two fight it out over the couch." She stood, twirled around and closed the door after her.

After a moment's awkward silence Bakura pulled his coat around himself and curled up as best he could in the seat he was in.

"You still haven't told us why." Dante prompted him.

"Why what?" the white haired boy asked.

"Why you rescued us, why you're even here."

Bakura sat up again and glanced around the room, looking everywhere but at Dante. After a good long time he obviously made a decision and started to speak, though the eye contact was still sorely lacking. "I was looking for someone with powerful cards very much like the one you keep. I followed the smell of power over here from Japan, and then lost it. When I sensed you I thought that I had picked up the trail again, but I guess I was mistaken. As for why I rescued you . . . I dunno. I just happened to feel like it."

The whole story was completely lacking in any detail, totally open to interpretation of any kind. But it sounded suspiciously like the truth to Dante, or at least as close as he was ever going to get to it.

"We finished?" Bakura asked with a sneer, "I kind of want to get some sleep."

"Yeah," Dante mumbled to himself. "We're done for now."

Morning came around too quickly, and Tanya woke him early to change the bandages on his arm. Flicking through the early morning television, she offered him another cup of tea. To his relief there was also orange juice available in the fridge, and she poured him a glass whilst they sat and waited for Bakura to wake up.

"He looks . . . different when he's asleep." She commented with her head tilted to one side. "Like a whole different person."

And she was right, Bakura took on a much softer appearance in sleep, gaining a measure of vulnerability that was unexpected from the viscous and uncaring man he was when awake.

Whatever the reason, he must have been exhausted, because he didn't wake up as they pottered around him in a mixture of early morning ritual and the need to find something to do to take their minds off the current situation they found themselves in.

"Look, I'm . . . I'm sorry that I got you mixed up in all of this." Dante mumbled to her as they shared the washing up. "Thanks for saving my life yesterday."

She handed him a wet dish and he ran a cloth over it. "Don't be sorry, I helped you because I wanted to. I just don't quite get all of what's going on here."

"Me neither." He agreed, nodding in Bakura's direction, "I think he's the only one with any answers here, and he doesn't seem willing to share any of them."

There was a vague background sound, like the beating of wings outside of the window.

"Birds." Tanya commented in response to the wary look on his face. "They nest just outside of this window, it's nothing to worry about I . . ."

But at that moment the glass in front of them exploded into a thousand pieces of razor sharp shrapnel and through the window came a large blue monster with one huge eye sunken into the centre of it's plump round body with claws, a tail and bats wings attached.

Dante instantly recognised it as a Meda Bat, another card-born creature given life by Dartz.

The glass alone would have been enough to cripple them had Bakura not chosen that time to awaken. Seeing the danger through the window before it had struck he pulled a strange circular necklace out of thin air and summoned some kind of barrier, which encircled the two helpless targets and protected them from the worst of the damage.

"Back! Away from the window!" Bakura yelled, already pulling on his Duel-plate and reaching for a card. The amulet sparked again and this time the card he drew sprang to life, raining fire down upon the hapless Meda Bat and destroying it. The creature vanishing in the same way as the Infernos had the day before.

"Ookazi." He answered in response to the unspoken question. "We'd better leave here before he sends anything more dangerous after us!"

Dante agreed with the statement, stopping only long enough to grab his own deck of cards before running through the door with Tanya hot on his heels. Bakura stayed a moment longer before picking up his coat and heading out of the door after them.

"He must have looked up my address through the hotel roster-sheet." Tanya explained as they ran.

"He wanted us to feel safe before springing a trap!" Bakura chipped in, "we need to clear this area and get away from here. Any ideas?"

"The train station!" Tanya called out as if suddenly remembering its existence. "Follow me!"

Boarding the train was easy, much easier than they had expected it to be. Nothing had followed them from the flat, and it seemed that nobody was keeping watch on the local station either. Never the less Dante and Tanya's eyes never stopped scanning the sky the whole way there.

Paying for the fair out of Dante's winnings from a duel a few days ago, they booked passage out of state on the first express train to be coming through, and hopped onboard as quickly as humanly possible.

Once onboard they let out a collective sigh of relief. The full length of the journey would be three days, with sleeping compartments arranged for the trip. And as the train pulled away from the station and began to gather speed, the feeling of safety that came from putting as much distance between himself and Dartz as possible began to creep in.

They had lunch in the dining cart and Dante was pleased to discover the first 'real' cup of tea he'd had in days served up on proper china with a saucer.

Sipping deeply, he savoured the aroma and sat back.

Tanya excused herself and went off to the women's area to fix the makeup she hadn't had time to apply that morning before leaving home. When he was sure she was out of earshot, Bakura sparked up a conversation.

"Why didn't you summon a warrior to defend yourself?" he asked over his second slice of cake. He waited patiently for Dante to cut himself a slice before getting an answer.

"I didn't see it coming." He admitted, "and to be honest I'm not sure if I could even if I wanted to. I don't have anything like that necklace you carry around to help me."

"You saw that huh?" Bakura's tone took on a defensive tone.

"Yeah I did."

"It's not a necklace, it's a ring." Bakura commented. "It's the vessel through which I am able to be here talking to you right now and the source of my powers."

None of this made any sense to Dante, but he nodded and listened to the story. Apparently the ring was one of several so-called 'Millennium Items' each with different powers and different uses, left over from a forgotten chapter in Egyptian history. Bakura admitted that he wasn't going to tell Dante everything, but he did explain enough to give him a general idea of the scope under which he found himself.

"How did you get the God-card?" he asked in return "What is its power in battle?"

"I don't know." Dante had to admit. "I have never used it in a duel before."

"Perhaps you should, then you would be able to tap its power."

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea" he admitted finally after some debate. "Pegasus told me to keep it hidden and not to touch it."

Bakura cocked his head onto one side "I thought you said Pegasus wasn't around anymore. Surely that means that it is worth giving it a try."

Before he could answer the question, or give it any further thought, Tanya arrived back with a new tray laden with goodies. She dropped it unceremonially onto the table along with a fresh batch of plastic forks and hinted for Dante to scoot up and make room for her.

There was every kind of sweet dish under the sun laid out before them. Apple pie, chocolate cake, brownies, to name but a few.

"Are you sure it's alright for us to be using your money like this?" She asked Dante.

"Sure." He nodded happily and scanned the spread. They'd only had a meagre meal of bread and cheese the night before, and in comparison this was a banquet. "I've got plenty of cash from winning competitions all over the world, and the pound is pretty strong against the dollar at the moment so I'm even richer over here."

"Wow, I always wanted a rich man at my beck and call!" She joked and nudged him playfully.

They laughed and ate until they were full, and then retired to their own personal sleeping quarters. 2 carriages had been available with the tickets, one for the men and an adjoining but separate carriage for Tanya. It was late afternoon by the time they had finished eating and talking in the lunch carriage, and Bakura promptly pulled himself up onto one of the bunks and drifted off to sleep, leaving the two of them alone again.

To pass the time Dante began to teach her the basics of Duel Monsters, but with only one deck it wasn't really practical, so he stuck to demonstrating the tricks and combos his own was able to perform. They shared stories and watched the sprawling countryside through the window as it passed them by.

"Oh, I almost forgot." He rummaged through his coat and pulled out a small art pad and a pencil. Both travel sized and obviously designed to be used on the move or sat on the lap of the artist. "I picked these up for you from the station."

Tanya reached out and gingerly took them from him, she smiled and thanked him.

"Now you can at least keep up with your drawing whilst we're on the move." He added with a smile.

The cart jolted, something must have been on the track.

"Any idea where we're going to go?" She asked him, hugging the gift to her chest.

Dante shrugged. "I'm not from around here. But the best thing I can think to do is get as far away from your old boss as possible and go into hiding for a while. Maybe make my way back to England." He paused, "You're welcome to join me if you like."

She smiled, and was about to say something when a scream pierced the gentle atmosphere of the carriage.

Dante and Bakura were up and standing by the door in a second. Opening it as far as they dared without being seen, they were unable to see anything in the corridors that would have caused such a reaction in a passenger.

"Umm . . . guys?" Tanya put in nervously. "I think maybe you're looking in the wrong place."

They followed her gaze out of the window and were shocked to see a swarm of Meda Bats attacking the train. Some of them had gotten a grip onto the carriages themselves, whilst others flapped around them clawing at the windows.

There was a crash of shattering glass and the small group knew that they were inside.

Filtering into the hall they made their way up along the inside of the train, trying to keep ahead of the sounds of shattering glass but with no such luck. A window shattered ahead of them and five of the monsters poured in through the gap, cutting off their escape. More filtered in from the back of the train, blocking them in between the two groups.

Bakura's hand hovered over the Millennium Ring, "There's too many." He commented grimly. "I can't fight them alone Dante, you have to summon a warrior."

As the monsters pressed closer one reached out to claw at Tanya, she squealed and kicked at it.

"I can't!" Dante shot back at him. "I don't have the power!"

"Yes you do!" Bakura insisted, but it was already too late. Drawing a card the Japanese boy tried to summon a monster to fight for them but one of the Bats swooped in and cut a deep gash along his back. Knocking the card from his grasp and sending it spinning away out of his reach.

Grabbing a fire extinguisher from the wall, Dante used it like a club to force one of them away from Tanya, but Bakura was in no such position, and another closed on him, this time slicing at his right shoulder.

Fumbling for another card he groaned and almost passed out. Dante, seeing his plight grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to keep him awake, but it was too late. Bakura collapsed, seeming to deflate as he did so into the softer image of a young boy again, loosing all illusion of power.

Tanya screamed as something grabbed her and Dante tried to pull her back towards him, but strong hands ripped her from his grasp and for the first time he saw the real danger that awaited them.

There beyond the bats was a Guardian Baou, a large demon with deep blue skin and clad in black leather armour. Gripped in one clawed hand was a sword twice the size of Dante, and tucked under his arm was Tanya.

"Lord Dartz sends his regards." The demon rumbled.

"Dante . . . run . . ." Tanya tried to speak but was smothered by one giant hand.

"You will give the card to me." It continued unabated.

"Never!" Dante spat before he could reason why.

"Then this girl dies." The demon shrugged, "The choice is yours."

Bakura was awake, his eyes weren't open but Dante could see the difference in him. The Japanese boy was lying still, but one hand was sneaking up towards his Duel-plate. He had to keep the monster talking long enough for him to do whatever it was he had planned.

"What promise do I have that you won't harm her if I give you the card?" Dante called, desperately stalling. The demon grinned slowly from ear to ear and laughed in a deep booming voice, obviously it did not plan on giving an answer.

In that instant it spied Bakura as he drew a card from his plate and stepped back, leaping out of the window with Tanya still held captive.

"Raigeki!" Bakura tossed the card into the air as series of powerful lightening bolts struck each of the monsters around them in turn and turned them into ash. He lay there panting, desperately gasping for breath. "What are you waiting for?" he moaned, "get after her!"

"But I . . ."

"Here catch!" He pulled his own deck from the Duel-plate and tossed it over to Dante, who caught it with both hands and hugged it to his chest. "You have to fight him, it's the only way!" Bakura spat and groaned.

Dante nodded once and headed for the nearest exit. There was only one place the demon could be – the roof.

Dante pulled himself up on top of the moving train and struggled onto his feet, the Duel-plate strapped to his hand contained his own deck now, but he still wasn't sure if he had the power to use it.

There before him stood the Baou. In the half-light of the evening it looked even more imposing, it's dark skin seeming to swallow up the last rays of sunlight like a black hole.

Tanya was lying behind him, bait for him to take.

"Here I am," he commented, stepping across the distance between them.

"Indeed." The demon smiled. "You are more of a fool than I thought."

"We'll see." Dante replied with more bravery than he felt.

Without warning the monster swung it's massive sword around in a wide arc that would have decapitated him had he not thrown himself backwards in time. Rolling along the carriage top he came to a halt worryingly close to the edge of the roof, mere inches from a nasty death.

Struggling back to his feet he dodged the second attack with a little more grace, but was caught in the chin by the beast's fist and sent sprawling once again.

This thing was stronger and faster than he was, he couldn't beat it alone. He needed help.

The Guardian Baou attacked again, this time swing it's blade around in a series of small swipes designed to push him backwards and away from the girl. The last blow would have sliced his hand open if the Duel-plate hadn't deflected the attack.

His arm, still in its sling, was burning with pain.

A kick to the chest sent the wind from his lungs and knocked him clear away from the beast. This was his one chance to do it – he hoped that he had the power.

Drawing a card from his deck he slammed it into place on the Duel-plate and screamed in lungs that burnt like fire "Black Luster!"

For a second there was nothing, then the plate erupted in a burst of white light and the card vanished. But there, appearing out of the thin air between himself and the Guardian Baou was his Black Luster Soldier. The card that people always associated with him, his winning hand.

The two monsters faced off for a moment before the Baou made to cleave the head from Black Luster's body, but the smaller knight was far quicker, it blocked the blow and parried instantly, sweeping it's razor-sharp sword up and across the monster's chest.

Rewarded with a spill of blood, he attacked again and severed the arm holding the Baou's sword. The demon screamed in rage for a moment before shattering and disappearing.

Black Luster stood there for a moment, then rippled and vanished. The card reappearing on Dante's Duel-plate.

"I did it!" He gasped, panting from the effort of the fight. "I did it."

Tanya struggled to her feet and helped him to stand. They had won themselves a respite from Dartz, better still they had shown that they could fight back.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

"Everything hurts." He laughed, "I should be asking you that question."

The two of them made their way back inside, where Bakura was waiting. Dante made to return the Duel-plate but the Japanese boy shook his head a firm no. "Keep it." He commented, "You'll need it if you're thinking what I think you're thinking."

"What?" Tanya asked.

Bakura looked over at Dante with a blank expression, as if waiting for confirmation.

Dante nodded. "I'm going to fight them." He stated simply. "I'm going to get to the bottom of all of this and find out what is so important about Duel Monsters."

TO BE CONTINUED . . .


	3. Chapter 3

SILENT TALE: PART 3 – Ben Warren

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Dante stepped into the New York City arena and blinked in the dazzle of the spotlights, the crowd went wild. Across, already standing ready for him was his opponent, the so-called 'legendary' fiend-type user Leon Timer. The man was a little bit older than Dante was, but he had an unbroken winning streak over here in the United States that had lasted him twenty-five straight games.

That streak ended now.

Crossing the distance between them the announcer introduced the rules of play, and the contestants to the audience. The screams of adoration were equally mixed between the two players, Leon being on his home ground and Dante having stirred quite a following in the states.

This match had been arranged months ago, and in all probability he should have avoided it, but it was the best way to draw Dartz's attention to him. He was done running from the stranger, and it was time he started to fight back. This tournament would prove useful in two respects. Firstly it would catch the attention of those who were looking for him, and secondly it would give him the chance to test his deck in a proper duel for the first time since he re-assembled it at the hotel.

"You're going down English!" Leon called from across the field.

Dante didn't say a word, he had already slipped into the quiet, determined frame of mind he always had when he was focused upon his goal.

"Draw!" the American yelled and pulled his first card from the deck. Instantly a shimmering hologram of a monster card in defence position appeared on the field in front of them. Another card appeared in his Magic and Trap area, face down and unable to be seen.

"End turn." He announced proudly.

Dante drew his card and stared at his hand for a moment, then played Neo the Magic Swordsman in face up attack and placed swords of revealing light into play.

Instantly three magical swords pinned a line in front of the opponent's monsters, disabling their ability to attack this turn. On Dante's side of the board a small female warrior clad in armour appeared and drew her sword.

"End turn." He called softly.

Not at all shaken by the appearance of the magic card, Leon drew his card and played Yami. The field took on a darker tone to reflect the field-card's effect on monsters in play. He set another monster card face down before opening his attack phase. Flipping his original monster into face-up attack position he revealed a Crass Clown, which was projected as sinister and bloated figure onto the field.

Reaching out the Clown kicked Neo the Magic Swordsman and she vanished, the card jumping back into Dante's hand. Every time the clown moved from defensive to attack position the effect would send 1 monster in play back into his hand.

That's why he wasn't worried about Swords of Revealing Light, he realised.

The turn ended and Dante quickly drew another card. With a smile he realised it was Polymerisation. Playing from his hand Dante crossed two of his smaller creatures to create Flame Swordsman, and promptly used the fire wielding knight to destroy the Crass Clown.

The blue and red garbed warrior crossed the distance in three huge strides and sliced the clown in half, it shattered and the card was sent to the grave. Leon's life points dipped accordingly and he cursed at Dante, but the Englishman's turn wasn't over yet.

Laying a trap card he called for a finish, and watched as one of the three swords of Revealing Light shimmered and vanished. Two more turns and it's protection would die as well.

Flipping his remaining monster card face up, Leon revealed a Rogue Doll, which he sacrificed to create the King of Yamimakai. The large spiky humanoid shape hung back, unable to attack. And Leon ended his turn.

"Hmmm . . ." Dante smiled as he drew his next card. "This is beginning to get interesting."

The Skull Demon, shattered into a thousand pieces and vanished. Leon screamed in rage and stormed from the arena as the crowd went wild. In total the match had taken only half an hour, by far one of the shortest games played in a long time.

"And the winner," the judge announced "Dante!" he handed over the prize money and a rare-card, then stepping back to allow the audience a clear view of the victor.

Amongst them Tanya clapped and stamped her feet, ecstatic that he had won. Rising from her seat, she tried to be one of the first people out of the arena, but the others had already started to break up and she got caught in the fight for the exit.

Pushing and dodging her way through the crowd, she got as far as the foyer before they caught up with her again and this time there was no way she could escape the squash. Making the decision, she sat herself at the bar and ordered something to drink. Dante would just have to come find her when he was done instead of meeting her outside the back door like they had planned.

Sipping the sweet liquid that the bartender provided for her, she savoured the fruity taste and tipped him generously from the money Dante had left her before separating.

A high pitched female cry made her jump a little, the memory of the incident onboard the train only three days ago still playing on her mind and making her unnaturally nervous. But this was a cry of pleasure and surprise, one which was quickly picked up by five or six more young girls as they began to realise what all of the fuss was about.

Dante sauntered into the room from the stage door and was quickly swamped by a tight ring of women all clamouring for an autograph. Tanya watched him laugh and oblige them from her vantage-point at the other side of the room.

_Must be nice to have so many people love you,_ she thought to herself, _and no wonder he's popular, he's young and attractive, as well as being good at what he does._

Dante however looked a little out of place amongst the crowd, evidently not as keen on being the centre of attention as Tanya would have thought. The honest truth was that he had never experienced this kind of thing until his arrival in the states, stardom in England was a much less fan-orientated business, and he was a little surprised at the hero-worship he got from the Americans. Not to mention the attention many of the ladies appeared to be giving him.

He recognised a couple of the girls from previous tournaments he'd fought in the states, they must have followed him all of the way to New York when the announcement of this next fight was made.

After a short time spent amongst the crowd, he managed to disperse them enough to have a clear run at the bar area. Excusing himself he wondered directly over to Tanya and sunk down onto the barstool next to hers, clearly exhausted.

"Well that was impressive." She commented as the last of her drink drained away.

"Not very, Leon really had me on the ropes for a while there." Dante sighed and ordered himself a fruit juice to match the one Tanya had just finished.

"No, not the game." She teased, "I was referring to the little fan club you seem to have acquired."

He winced and raised an eyebrow. "Don't go there." He laughed.

She smiled back at him and gave him the once-over. Tall, with nice grey eyes and short cut white hair, a good build and the ultimate James Bond accent. _Yeah_, she thought, _I can see where these girls are coming from._

"The money from this duel will keep us living pretty for a few weeks at least." Dante was talking, not noticing that her attention was drawn elsewhere. "I think that the speed of the win should be enough to get the attention we've been looking for. Now all we have to do is hope that Dartz comes himself instead of sending another monster in his stead."

"Hmmmm . . ." Tanya murmured and then seemed to come to her senses. "I mean, right!" she corrected herself quickly.

"Didn't Bakura come with you?" he asked.

She shook her head and leant against the bar, cradling her head in her arms. "He said he wanted to look around the local museum, don't ask me why. I'll take you there to pick him up when we're done here." She paused for a moment before adding. "He still gives me the creeps."

Dante nodded his agreement. It had been five days since their rescue from a monstrous Inferno by the young Japanese man, but he was still a mystery to them. Most of the time he was either sleeping of ordering them around, but on occasion he was mean enough to spark an argument between Tanya and himself. Dante had learnt a little from him about the powers inherent in Duel Monsters, the card game they both played, but it was only a drop in the ocean – and they both knew it.

"Room for one more?" Dante turned around to see Leon sliding onto the stool next to him and waving over the barman. "Figured that I should buy the guy who broke me a drink." He smiled in a warm fashion, "non-alcoholic of course. You're still too young to drink over here in the states."

Dante smiled back, "I'll have a lemonade." He held out his hand, "that was a good game you gave me."

Leon shook his head in disbelief but shook the younger man's hand anyway. "Good game? You knocked me flat in half an hour. That's not a game it's a slaughter." Then he laughed in a loud booming voice. "You're good kid." He added, "Better than anybody I've ever fought, and I've fought a great many duellers. Maybe you're even as good as that Japanese boy with the 'King of Gamers' title, but then I suppose that you've already set a date to duel him."

"Yugi?" Dante looked confused. "How would I get to Japan on such short notice?"

"Japan? Kid the guy's been seen around over here for the past few weeks! Don't you check you're information on the net?"

Dante winced. "I've been a little busy lately." He admitted.

Leon sipped his own drink and passed the newly arrived beverage over to his friend. Shrugging, he laughed again and clapped Dante on the back. "Well don't let it get to ya kid." He chuckled, "I hear that he went straight to see Pegasus at his office then vanished off the face of the earth."

At the mention of Pegasus both he and Tanya looked up from their drinks, suddenly paying much more attention to the dueller than previously.

Yugi had gone to see Pegasus? How long ago was that? Dante had seen the creator of Duel Monsters trapped within one of his own cards. Was this Yugi involved somehow?

"Well," Leon drained the last of his drink in two quick gulps and rose to leave. "I gotta be going. There's some mean people about the streets at night of late, and I don't wanna get mixed up in anything. News says that they've been targeting duellists like you and me and doing something . . . terrible to them. Their bodies are unharmed but their mind's gone."

Dante rose with him and shook the man's hand once again. "Thanks," he murmured. "I'll keep it in mind."

They weren't going to be meeting up with Bakura for another hour, and Tanya wanted to go shopping before the last stores closed. The hotel they were staying at was only a ten minute walk away, so Dante waved her goodbye and hailed a taxi.

He wanted to go and visit the Pegasus building. Yugi had been sniffing around there recently, and it was most likely the last place the creator of Duel Monsters was seen. That made it the best place to start if he wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on.

Whatever was happening, Pegasus was a key figure in all of this. The real question was which side was Yugi on? He had the other three God-Cards, was Dartz after him as well, or were they working together?

Slipping his bag from around his shoulder, Dante opened it and took out the Duel-plate that Bakura had given him. Inspected mutely the mark left by the Baou's blade when it had tried to kill him, a small scratch that could have taken his hand off had he not been luckier.

Firmly attaching the plate to his arm, he inserted his deck and clenched his fist tight. This wasn't a game anymore – Duel Monsters was something far more real.

Pulling up to a halt in front of the grand building, he hopped out and paid the driver before approaching the front door. It was locked and sealed, but it looked like there had been some kind of a fight in the main lobby not too long ago. Stuff was scattered all over the place and there was a nasty split in the stone floor that was defiantly not done naturally.

Sidling around, he managed to find a fire-escape door that looked like it had been forced open, and slipped inside with as little noise as possible. He didn't want to be picked up by the police for breaking and entering.

Inside it was a rabbit-warren of corridors and offices, all winding up towards the top floor. That would be Pegasus' office, he realised as he began to climb higher, any answers he would find would be there.

Stopping to listen, he thought for a moment that he could hear footsteps, but the sound must have been an echo, because nothing reached his ears.

Checking which floor he was on, Dante began to seven-floor climb to reach the office.

"This is defiantly the place where he e-mailed me from." He mumbled as he stepped around the desk and over the lush carpet of the office. And he was right, behind the desk was the same view in the video-file that he had seen.

Glancing around, he booted up the computer sitting at the desk. Cursing, he realised that it was password protected. Glancing about him, he looked for some kind of clue as to what the answer to this riddle could be. Off the top of his head he tried a few words associated with Duel Monsters, but to no avail.

Beside the computer, sitting on the desk, was a photograph of a young couple. A man and a woman at a party somewhere, dressed up and obviously having fun. Slipping the picture out of its frame he squinted at it, the man was defiantly Pegasus. But the girl was unfamiliar to him.

Checking the back he found a note and a name – trying it in the computer he found to some satisfaction that it was the password he was looking for.

_Well I may not be James Bond, _he thought, _but my spy technique is defiantly getting better_.

The files were mostly notes on future releases and pieces of journal. Dante scanned through a few of them but aside from the mildly interesting tit-bit of information that the cards in Duel Monsters were in fact based upon ancient Egyptian carvings, and the truth behind who the girl in the picture was, it was mostly useless.

A large portion of the hard-drive seemed to be filled with the data on a new game called Duel Dice Monsters. But he didn't look too far into it.

Then he came across a folder entitled 'Dante'.

Clicking to open it, he found that it too was password protected, but this time he felt that it was for different reasons. Could it be that this file was set there for him to find?

Typing in the password TIDUS he was pleased to see that it unlocked and spread out its sparse contents on the screen before him - one video file and a notepad document containing two words "Watch me."

Carefully, as if it might break, Dante clicked on the Video and slipped into Pegasus' leather seat to watch it.

Instantly the face of Duel Monster's creator flashed up on the screen, looking just as worried and as panicked as he had done before, but perhaps there was the barest hint of determination and hope in his one visible eye this time.

"Dante-boy" the singsong tone of voice the always used piped through the speakers. "If you're watching this then you have failed in your attempt to keep Tius secret, I must say that I am not surprised – those who hunt you are very good at what they do." He lent forwards and his face filled the screen a little more. "You must not allow them to get hold of Tius Dante-boy! It is perhaps the one card that could stand up against the three true God-Cards should their power fall to the use of evil. I do not know what these people want with them, but they will be coming for me shortly, and despite my best efforts to arm Yugi and yourself against them I fear that soon I will no longer be able to aid you."

Dante reached up to his deck and drew out Tius, holding it between himself and the screen, scrutinising the card whilst he listened.

"Yugi can take care of himself, he is the true King of Gamers, and that fact may save your life. Almost all of their attention will be fixed on him, perhaps allowing you to slip through the net if you are careful. In other circumstances I would suggest that you seek him out and team up with him – between you your powers would be formidable, but it would seem that destiny has greater plans for you my boy.

When I travelled the world I filtered through many myths and legends, but only two cultures had such powerful mythical creatures that they could once have been real. Egyptian legend was the basis for the original Duel Monsters game, but your own local legends have power as well. I know this, and so does Dartz. He will realise that your nationality was not as coincidental as it may seem, that I chose you to receive Tius for a reason. Listen closely Dante-boy because what I am about to tell you is very important -"

The video cut off as the monitor exploded into a shower of sparks.

Pushing himself up and away, Dante found himself standing face to face with a woman with long purple hair, tied back into a ponytail and garbed in a long trench coat. Strapped to one arm was what looked on first glance to be a Duel-plate, but on closer inspection it was a lot more streamlined in design and faintly organic in comparison to the bulky piece he wore on his own left arm. His right still too weak to support the weight without pain.

"Who?" He started to ask, but the girl cut him off.

"My name is Nadia." She spoke in a sharp tone, her voice crisp and with a slightly southern accent. "Lord Dartz demands you're soul. And I, as his emissary am here to collect it." She activated her strange Duel-plate and slid a card from her deck into her hand.

Dante responded slowly, carefully. He slipped a CD into the hard-drive of the computer and sent a command to copy the active file, hoping that it was just the screen she had damaged, then stepped around the desk and drew her attention away from it to himself.

"I've got some questions for you." He commented dryly, lifting his own Duel-plate. "Don't think that I won't defend myself – I can pull the monster trick too."

Nadia smiled. A disconcerting gesture that made him shiver, "I expected no less from somebody who can face Lord Dartz himself and live to tell the tale." She held her hand threateningly close to the plate. "That's why I made sure I got this assignment instead of the Swordsmen. I WILL bring you, and that card of yours back with me."

"You can try!" Dante slammed a card onto the plate and activated it. Instantly a warrior dressed in samurai garb appeared in front of him, drawing its sword it stood firmly between the two of them.

"Getsu Fuhma." She identified it immediately and summoned a warrior of her own, a large humanoid warrior in deep blue armour and bearing a scythe. Dante recognised it instantly as the Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness.

The Serpent swung its weapon in a wide arc that shattered the female warrior Dante had summoned and caused it to vanish. Taking two more steps it came within striking range of him and made to slice away his head.

Without faltering, Dante slid a Trap Card from his deck and dropped it quickly onto the board. A Physical Double of the monster appeared and they destroyed each other instantly as they collided with the resounding sound of armour grinding together.

Pushing his advantage one step further, he activated the spell Legendary Sword and, grasping the weapon as it appeared from the air, stepped forwards quickly enough to catch the girl before she could get another card from her deck.

The sword to her throat, he held her there, unmoving.

"Now." Dante hissed "I said that I wanted answers!"

"You . . . you're better than you let on." She said, trying not to move too close towards the tip of the blade for fear of slicing open her jugular vein, "Why haven't you pushed yourself like this before?" she asked.

"I've been protecting people." He replied darkly. "But there's nobody here to worry about except you and me, so you're going to answer me a few questions. Understand?"

She nodded and he took a half-step back, keeping the sword levelled at her but giving her room to breathe. "Drop the deck." He commanded, and she did so, the cards tumbling all over the floor by her feet.

Duel Monsters was real, monsters could be summoned to fight for someone with the ability to do so. Which meant that the other cards where of a similar nature. Spell cards containing weapons could be used by both a monster AND the summoner. Which gave Dante the edge. It looked like these guys liked their monsters to do the fighting, he on the other hand wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty.

"Who are you?" he asked her, kicking the cards away from where she knelt.

"Nadia, disciple of Dartz." She responded with as much dignity as she could manage. "I was given the mission to track you down and take your soul whilst the three Swordsman hunt Yugi and his friends." She jaded a moment, spite creeping into her tone. "Your destruction would have brought me great standing within his organisation."

"So he wants me dead huh?"

"Not dead, he wants to add your soul to his collection. He wants to summon his god."

Dante blinked, startled, but the sword in his hand never wavered. He remembered what Leon had said about duellists being attacked on the streets, and it all began to add up. "Well he's not going to be getting it." He answered, wishing that he was half as certain as he sounded. "Not without a fight."

There was a chime from the computer, the CD had finished writing. Reaching out with one hand Dante slipped it from the drive into his pocket, taking his eye off of the girl for a fraction of a second.

That was when she chose to strike.

Kicking herself backwards she moved sharply away from his sword and dived across the carpet, scooping up the first monster that came to her hand. Slamming it onto her wrist-mounted plate, it shone for a second before forming the shape of a Zombie Tiger. The beast pounced at him the second that it was fully formed, and Dante was forced to put off his pursuit of the girl and face this new threat. Rolling over to one side he slashed at the beast's midsection, drawing a thin scratch along its underbelly that only seemed to madden the monster.

Summoning Rare Gold Armour in which to clad himself, Dante battled the beast head-on. Blocking three swipes from the thing's claws before he finally managed to decapitate it. The Tiger vanished and reappeared as a card on the floor. Its owner was nowhere to be seen.

Dante scooped it up and pocketed the card. He had a feeling that he was going to get the chance to return it real soon, something told him that he hadn't seen the last of that girl.

Sighing, he let the armour and the sword vanish, breathing out as the weight of the gold was taken from his slim body. He patted the CD, checking that it was still whole in his pocket. The last instructions left for him by Pegasus. It looked like he and Yugi where on the same side, but their fights against Dartz would take on very different forms. The rest of this message was going to reveal his own role in the battle to come, and he knew on some basic level that a direct confrontation with Dartz and his organisation was unavoidable. All that remained was for him to hear the instructions.

He hoped that wherever Yugi was, and whatever he was doing out there, he was all right. If Dartz really was stealing souls then he was up to something bigger than Dante could even imagine. And they where going to need every warrior on their side available to fight if they wanted to have any chance of winning . . .

TO BE CONTINUED.


	4. Chapter 4

(Sorry it took so long to upload this new chapter, university coursework kind of ate up all of my spare time. But I got there in the end)

SILENT TALE Chapter 4 – Ben Warren

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Dante was falling, drifting downwards from a great height, but he was unable to make out any of the details of his descent, everything was a blur of white and yellow. Strangely he was not afraid by any of this, instead there was a feeling of homeliness, as if he belonged wherever he was going. Slowly his descent slowed, and finally stopped, leaving him hanging in the air stationary.

Now that he was not moving Dante was able to check his surroundings. It looked like a ruined chapel or an ancient burial ground. There were marble pillars scattered about the floor, and it looked like they had once supported some kind of a roof, the remains of which could not be seen.

"Where am I?" He whispered to himself. His voice echoed about him and rolled into the distance.

As if in answer, a faint wind picked up, casting dust across the ground. There was the sound of footsteps from somewhere behind him, and Dante turned to see who it could be.

A tall man, garbed in blue armor and carrying a sword slung loosely over his right shoulder was standing there. It was as if he had always been there, a serene calm radiating from him. Dante was confused, but not scared, he had always known that this figure was with him, there was nothing but faith between the two of them. He could even name the mysterious knight.

Black Luster Soldier.

"Did you call me here?" Dante asked, his voice quiet in the sudden stillness. It felt like the whole world was waiting for him to speak, as if it were stretched to breaking point.

The knight shook his head, his body staying perfectly still as his head moved from side to side. "There was no need to bring you here." He spoke at last in a voice similar to Dante's "You have always been here in you heart young man."

"This . . . this isn't real isn't it. I mean, this is a dream right?"

"It is whatever you make of it. This place is a nexus between my world and your own, here the barrier between them is at its weakest and it allows me to communicate with you like this."

Dante pieced together the words, translating them in his head before interpreting them aloud. "So there is another world beside ours where characters from Duel Monsters really exist?"

"Indeed, and it is in dire need of your help. Dartz must be stopped."

Dante shook his head a little and glanced about him, if he looked at this place in a certain way it was almost familiar. "I thought that Yugi was supposed to be the one fighting him, isn't he the best of us?"

Black Luster smiled sadly and shook his head. "You have great potential Dante, but indeed Yugi is the greatest. I think that even you, who has never known defeat in battle, would lose to him. But he has already fallen to the power of Dartz, and his soul resides within the madman's grasp."

"Yugi was defeated?" Dante asked, a little taken aback. From what he had learnt of the young Japanese player, he was the very best duelist ever to have lived, a tactical genius second to none.

"You still do not understand the message that Pegasus left you."

It was true, he had been unable to understand the rest of the footage, despite the fact that he had watched it several times since his escape from the office of the man who had created Duel Monsters. The guy's singsong voice was hard to understand, and he reveled in speaking in riddles. All that he had been able to discern was that Dartz was capturing the souls of players and using them as some kind of tribute to summon a powerful force into the human world. Something that he called his God.

The man possessed a power unlike anything Dante had ever seen, he could summon monsters from the game to do his bidding. But it looked like it was a skill possessed by others. Bakura had saved him using a similar power, and even he had been able to summon monsters and weapons to defend himself.

But Dartz was something else, something sinister. He radiated a power that was unthinkable.

"When you awaken, look to the east for answers." Black Luster whispered to him, and then everything faded out to white.

"Dante wake up!" Tanya yelled and kicked the back of his seat. Slipping, the young man fell off of his chair and landed on the floor. He'd given up the bed the night before so is that his friend could take the bed in their small hotel room, and instead gone to sleep on one of the rooms many wicker chairs. Rubbing his back he reflected that this was possibly the worst thing he could have done.

"What did I do?" he mumbled and stood up slowly.

"You where having a nightmare." She informed him simply and shrugged. "Waking you up seemed like the best move." By way of apology she slipped a tray down in front of him filled with fruit, and he helped himself to a slice of melon.

He'd been dreaming, he remembered bits and pieces of it but not the whole story. It was like patches of his memory had been faded out and he was left with the tail-end of things. Biting into the sweet fruit, he carefully wiped the juice from his chin and looked around for his deck. It was still sitting in the Duel-plate on the table in the center of the room, where he had left it last night. Reaching out, he thumbed through the cards and carefully shuffled his way down to find Tius.

The God-card was one of a kind, inferior in power to that of the three Yugi had won in the battle-city championships but still greater than anything else in the game. Pegasus had said that he was uncertain how it had ended up in Dante's collection, but that nothing happened without a reason. Fate had chosen him to be the one to hold onto the card, and despite Dartz's best efforts that was exactly what he had done so far.

Tanya thumbled with his laptop and replayed the last few moments of the message he had downloaded from the computer back in Pegasus' office two days ago. It played out in the droning tone that Pegasus used when he was being serious about something.

". . . coincidental as it may seem, that I chose you to receive Tius for a reason. Listen closely Dante-boy because what I am about to tell you is very important. Somewhere in England there is a site where a great power once dwelt, thousands of years ago it resided in your homeland and safeguarded the borders. If you could awaken this power then you may be able to defend against Dartz and his minions. Stalling his goals until such a time as Yugi can strike at the very heart of matters. But Dartz is equally aware of this power, and even now is searching your homeland for it. Should he find it before you do then it will be destroyed, along with out last hope to stop his plans. I'm putting a lot of trust in you Dabte-boy, but Tius chose you for a reason, and I don't think that I have much time left to help you with. Good luck . . ."

The rest of the file was too corroded to play. Dartz's assassin had destroyed the computer and evidently done something in the process that had stopped the video from recording properly.

They'd booked their tickets on a flight to England yesterday. All they had to do now was wait until the evening to fly out and across the ocean. They would make it back to England in time for sunrise if there were no delays. Dante was going home.

He had missed it, he realized that now as he was about to return. Sure there was no hero worship like there was over in the states, but at heart he was English, and yearned for the green fields of his native land.

He wondered if Bakura missed his homeland back east?

Dante stiffened, a slice of fruit poised in front of his lips, ready to be eaten.

"What's wrong?" Tanya asked him, sensing his sudden change to mood.

Standing up in one swift motion, Dante grabbed the Duel-plate from the table and stalked out of the room, crossing into the bedroom where Bakura was alseep and slamming the door open.

They found Bakura half-dressed and pulling on his shirt. The white-haired kid was about to turn and greet him when Dante roughly grabbed his collar and pushed him into the wall, pressing him there firmly.

"What the hell are you going?" he yelled and tried to move, but he was too well pinned.

"Dante!" Tanya yelled from the door, unable to grasp what was going on.

Dante didn't even blink, he just held Bakura there unmoving for what seemed like an eternity before leaning close and whispering into the man's ear. "Look to the east for answers . . . "

Spinning the captive around, Bakura tried to push him off but was unsuccessful in the attempt, he was however able to get a grip on something golden and shiny that hung about his neck, and brought it up as if it were a weapon to be used against him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Have you gone mad?" The Japanese boy spat.

Letting his grip loosen a little, Bakura was able to step away from him, but Dante still kept a hold of one arm. Tight enough to let him know who was in charge of this situation.

"Tell me about Yugi's soul." The young Englishman commanded.

Bakura stood defiant, unwilling to answer and questions, but he realized slowly that the only way out of the situation was to tell the truth. There was no way he could take Dante in this mood. He was dark, almost as sinister as Malick had been back on the airship to the finale of the Battle City tournament. He'd had that same strange look of contempt in his eyes right before trying to send him into the depths of a dark game.

"Dartz has it." He answered at last, after a considerable time had passed. "The other soul within Yugi's body is in full control now, he's trying to get his partner back."

"Explain." Dante whispered.

"Yugi has a Millenium Artifact, some of which contain the spirits of people long dead. They reside within the body of the one who finds them, bringing power and skills along with the package."

"You mean like the thing you're wearing about your neck?" Dante asked, "what is it?"

"The Millenium Ring."

"And which are you? The host or the parasite inside of him?"

There was a long silence, "Does it matter?" Bakura asked, "I'm helping you aren't I?"

Dante let him go, but kept him backed up against the wall, "Why are you helping us?" he asked simply.

"Because I want to collect together all of the Millennium artifacts." A slow snake-like grin began to spread across his face. "What use would they be to me if Dartz has destroyed the world? I can't work with Yugi because the soul inside of him doesn't trust me, so I had to look for another powerful duelist to work with."

"Pegasus says that Dartz is looking for a power hidden in England, somewhere where the barriers between our world and that of the Duel Monsters are thinner than anywhere else. Have you any idea where it would be?"

Bakura shrugged, "Not exactly." He admitted, "But get me to England and I'll be able to use the power of the Ring to find the place. All I know is that it will be somewhere old and somewhere very, very well guarded."

"Guarded by who?" Tanya chipped in from the door.

"Ancient magical wards." He replied simply. "Something that powerful wouldn't have been left unguarded for a million years. Now . . . are you going to let me go? Or do we have to get nasty?" He asked Dante with every hint of menace. "I assure you, that Duel Plate isn't going to protect you if you pick a fight with me."

Dante released him, giving him free access to the rest of the suite. The white-haired Asian boy stepped past him, and sauntered off. But not before he had stopped to look Tanya over in the doorway.

"You might want to think about leaving this one behind. She's useless to us, and a liability when things get rough." He sneered and left.

Tanya entered the room and sat down on the vacant bed, waiting until she heard the sound of the toilet door closing and a shower starting before she spoke again.

"He gives me the creeps." She informed Dante with no hint of sarcasm.

Dante moved around the bed and sat down next to her, the Duel Plate on his lap. He didn't want to admit it, but maybe Bakura was right. Taking Tanya to England would only put her into more danger than he had already. If she hadn't risked her life to save him then she wouldn't have even had any of this trouble in the first place.

Evidently she was quicker on the uptake than he had given her credit though, because she fixed him with a mean glare and spoke in a very clear voice "Don't you even think of sending me away Dante." She turned her body around to face him, tucking her legs under herself, one hand reaching out and sitting atop his. "If there is one thing that I know is true, its that everything I have done with you has been the right thing. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life hanging around that hotel being paid peanuts to serve drinks to arrogant customers. And I know that its been dangerous, and that I haven't helped as much as I could have done, but I promise that if you take me along I'll be useful. You need somebody to watch your back Dante, because you're too trusting. Bakura isn't going to be on our side forever, and it wouldn't surprise me if he made a play for your card when all this is over. You need me there with you."

Dante didn't say anything, he just cupped her hand between his and smiled gently. "I wouldn't dream of leaving you behind." He said sincerely. "And don't you worry about Bakura, I think there are some tricks I could pull that would shock even him."

He stood and pulled her to her feet.

"How did you know about him anyway?" She asked as they left the room.

"I . . . had a dream." He confessed, feeling a little silly now that he came to say it.

She looked at him like he was mad, and then shrugged it off. "You're a weird one Dante, I'll give you that." Then she added, "that's why I like you."

The airstrip was barren, only three planes were left heading towards England, and all of them were going to take far too long to get there. It struck Dante, as he made his way over to the private hangers, that this was the stupidest thing he had ever done. And mused for the third time just how he had let Tanya talk him into doing it. There was NO way that anyone was going to give them a ride across the ocean on a private jet for free. These things just didn't happen in real life.

Inside the hanger was quieter, and at least it was out of the wind. Seven planes of varying sizes were stored there, baring logos and corporation markings that clearly defined who the owners were. One of the planes was much grander than the others though, a silver shadow stored at the back of the hanger.

Dante made his way slowly over towards it. Trying to get a better look at the machine.

"Hey!" a voice called out from behind him, "What are you doing here?"

Stopping dead, he turned around slowly, worried that perhaps he had done something wrong – or that maybe this area of the place was restricted. What greeted his eyes was a surprise.

A young boy was standing with his hands on his hips, he's been the one to call out to him. But behind him was another man, taller and well built. Dante recognized him, everybody in the game would.

Seto Kaiba.


	5. Chapter 5

SILENT TALE Chapter 5 – Ben Warren

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Seto Kaiba was bigger in real life than he appeared on the television or in his publicity pictures, and as he moved towards Dante it began to dawn on him that in none of the magazine articles he'd read had it ever said that he was a nice person. Brilliant and talented were words that got associated with him, there was no denying that. The man had practically revolutionized the Duel Monster's card game with his Duel Plate technology, one of which Dante still wore strapped to his left arm. But nice . . .

"What are you doing here?" the little boy beside Kaiba asked again, and this time Dante realised that he had been ignoring the question while he stared at Kaiba.

"Sorry." Dante was about to hold out his hand to shake, but remembered Kaiba's country of origin and bowed low instead in apology. "I was looking for someone who could give me and my two friends a flight back to England. I have some rather urgent business there."

"This area is prohibited to outsiders and those who don't work here."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that."

The little boy, and Dante was fairly certain that he must be Seto's younger brother Mokuba, but he didn't want to say anything. Interestingly the older man hadn't said a word yet, he was letting his brother do all the talking, and fixing Dante with a cold calculating stare. It was almost as if he were trying to work something out about the Englishman and was mulling a thought over.

"You won't find anyone here to help you." Mokuba insisted and pointed him to the exit. Dante had taken three steps in that direction when Kaiba called him back.

"You, you're the English player correct?"

Dante nodded but didn't make any move to close the gap that he had opened up between them. "That's right sir, my name is Dante."

"I don't care about your name." Kaiba replied curtly. "What are you doing here?"

Flushing slightly red with anger, Dante did his best to swallow his feelings. This man was powerful and one of the best Duelists ever to have lived. But he was as rude and arrogant as he was successful. "I came here to duel Rebecca, the American champion. However she wasn't available to see me."

Kaiba smiled, obviously privy to something Dante wasn't and waved a hand in the air in a broad gesture. "Last I saw of her she was travelling around with Yugi and his group of friends. I doubt she'll have time to meet up with a Duelist from some backwater island."

Clenching his fist tight, he tried not to show the sting of this man's callousness, but a hint of anger was beginning to shine through. England was his home, his country and held a very sacred place in his heart, the man's words cut him deeply, but they also gave him a clue as to what had been happening.

Rebecca was with Yugi, who as Pegasus had told him was also involved in this affair with Dartz. That was why she had been unable to get hold of him or reply to his e-mails. Finally things were beginning to fall into place, and if Kaiba knew about her being with Yugi, then the chances were that he knew a lot more about what was going on besides.

"You're an arrogant man Kaiba." Dante replied curtly, "and ordinarily I'd put those words to the test, but I don't have time to be dueling with anyone right now. I need to get home and fast."

"Why, what's so important?" he replied, a hint of interest creeping into his tone.

"Because Pegasus thinks that it is the best way to cripple a man named Dartz. And because I want to make the bastard suffer for all the grief he's put me through over the last month."

Kaiba looked at him for a moment without saying a word, and then his face split into a wide grin. A laugh started somewhere deep inside his throat and erupted out with enough volume to fill the hanger.

"You have guts Dante, I'll give you that." Holding out a hand he indicated that his brother should come closer. "Give him what he needs," he muttered, and walked off, stalking out of the hanger.

Dante watched him go, and then let Mokuba show him to a plane, before gathering his friends. It looked like the Kaiba Corporation was going to be funding his home journey.

Tanya loved the plane, she spent the duration of the journey ordering food and drinks from the cabin crew and watching the movie. Bakura had settled himself somewhere closer to the back of the craft, his back to the wall where he could sit uninterrupted and watch the others unbidden. Dante however was unable to relax. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and fiddled with the one cup of tea he'd ordered from the crew before Tanya had started enjoying herself.

He was going home . . . how long had it been now anyway? Surely not as long as it felt, but then so much had happened since he had come to the states. He'd met Tanya, made fast friends with someone he hardly knew. In fact he was beginning to find it hard to imagine life without her reassuring presence. The two of them had escaped Dartz and met Bakura. And between the three they had unravelled a large part of the mystery.

But still, certain questions remained. The foremost in his mind was Tius, and what would happen should it fall into the hands of the enemy. Would Yugi be able to defeat its power? He owed it to the faceless duelist to make sure that the need never arose to find out.

And then there was their destination. A remote location where two worlds touched. What would he find there?

Unable to settle, he sipped his tea. Soon he would be home.

"The plane will be touching down in one hour at Luton airport." The captain announced over the radio, making him jump. He must have fallen asleep in his chair because below the plane, outside of the window, was no longer sea as far as the eye could see. Now there was green fields and roads. Small villages that looked like they were designed to house ant instead of people.

As they drifted lightly through a layer of clouds Bakura suddenly sat up sharply and focused his attention through the window. The sudden movement drew his attention, and Dante moved down to stand beside the Japanese buy.

"I thought I saw . . ." Bakura murmered, and shook his head.

There was nothing outside of the window, just white clouds that continued to get thicker.

"I must be imagining things." He commented and settled back again, opening his mouth to speak just as the plane rocked violently to one side. Cursing, the two of them got to their feet. Tanya, a drink spilling out of her hand and over her top, let out a high pitched scream and grabbed onto the chair in front of her for support. The plane continued to rock and shake.

"This isn't turbulence." Dante stated simply.

"Dartz has caught up with us!" Bakura agreed.

And there it was. Outside of the window, a large shape amidst the clouds, getting steadily closer. A winged monster that was too indefinable within the clouds for either of them to identify.

Large claws fastened themselves to either side of the plane and snatched at the wings, holding the plane stationary and causing the three occupants to roll forwards with the shock of stopping.

Someone screamed from inside the cabin crew's quarters and two of the girls that had been serving them ran out. Followed closely behind by tall lanky female monsters, recognizable as Vampire Ladies. Seven in total, one of which grabbed for the passing form of a pilot and snapped his neck, drinking deeply from the blood that spewed forth.

"Everybody stay behind me!" Dante yelled and reached for his Duelplate but to his horror he realized that it was sitting across the room, left there when he went to check on Bakura. The Vampire Ladies evidently noticed it too, because the closest one smiled and reached out to grab him. Stepping hurriedly backwards Dante was too slow, and thin fingers caught his left arm.

Swinging wildly with his right, he smacked it a ringing blow across the face and it let go, but to his shock the pain from his own wounded arm was still shockingly bad. Letting out a yell of pain he was quickly caught up by another of the monsters, and this time both his hands were held tightly.

He watched in horror as the horrifically beautiful face moved closer – teeth bared and ready to rip out his throat.

But there was a blinding flash and suddenly strong hands were pulling him back. Dante had a second to witness Bakura reaching for his Millenium Ring with one hand, and pulling him free with the other before the world was flooded with bright yellow light.

The closest of the monsters yelped and shrunk back, but it didn't vanish like he had been expecting. Instead Bakura appeared to be having trouble summoning the power of his item.

_He's stayed in control too long!_ Dante realised, _he can't stay like this all of the time and summon his full power. Soon he'll have to revert to the original personality of his host._

"Hurry up and get the plate!" Bakura yelled harshly, "I can't keep this up forever!"

"Right!" Tanya yelled, and grabbed it, throwing it across the gap between them. Dante caught it and drew a card from his deck, slamming it into position and summoning a tall warrior. Command Knight.

The swordsman slashed his way through three of the monsters before the others ganged up on it, slicing it to pieces and causing it to vanish, the card reappearing on the plate and going directly to the Graveyard. Bakura, unable to hold it any longer, took two weak steps back and passed out.

"Don't just stand there, help me!" Tanya yelled at the dumbstruck crewmen as she pulled his sleeping form away from the battle.

Unslowed, Dante drew another card and slammed it onto the board. Black Luster Soldier appeared beside him, sword drawn and charged, blitzing his way through the enemy. But more and more of the Vampire Ladies kept appearing.

"We need to land this plane!" Dante yelled. "If I clear a path can you make it to the cabin?"

The captain nodded and waited for his chance. Black Luster sliced a path through two of the monsters in front of the door and Dante shepherded the man through safely before locking the door behind him. Now, surrounded by the enemy, he had to think of a tactic fast.

Drawing a Lightening Blade from his deck he hesitated about equipping it to Black Luster, instead using it to create the weapon for himself like he had done before in the Pegasus Building. Ducking under an attack he severed a Vampire in two, and was soon fighting back to back with Black Luster. The plane, still under the grip of the larger monster, was still not moving.

"We need to break free!" he yelled. "I can hold these guys, you take the big one."

Black Luster nodded once, and then sprinted towards the emergency hatch. Thumbing the latch he pushed the door out into open air and then judged the distance to the wing. Taking a step back he leapt out and landed on the flat surface. Drawing his sword and throwing it with all his might up into the soft underbelly of the monster, which withered and vanished.

The plane lurched forwards, suddenly free.

Finishing the last of the monsters, Dante gasped and panted, then let the cards he had been using disappear. Black Luster and his sword vanished.

"Everyone alright?" Dante yelled, and glanced around quickly for Tanya. He hadn't been able to keep track of her through the duration of the fight, and was worried about her safety.

"We're fine." She announced simply, bent over the sleeping form of Bakura. "The crew are a little shaken, but I think that we're starting to get the hang of these encounters, don't you?"

Unbidden, Dante laughed. Relieved and happy to see her safe.

"You'd better check on the captain." She reminded him, and he nodded is agreement. Turning and walking the length of the craft back towards the control room, he knocked three times on the door and entered.

"What's the situation?" he asked,

"We'll have to land out in the countryside." The captain announced simply. "I can't land this thing without my co-pilot and he was killed in the attack, besides, with the state of the wings we're lucky to still be in the air. What was that?"

"You're better off not knowing believe me." Dante answered. "If I give you coordinates, would you be able to land there?"

"Sure. As long as its close."

"Oh its close." Dante assured him. "I need to get to Stone Henge."


	6. Chapter 6

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Its been a while since I started this story, and I want to apologise to all those who have been waiting for this final update. So here it is at last people, the finale of my fanfic._

SILENT TALE Chapter 6 – Ben Warren

-------------------------------------------------

Dante finished sorting through his deck and carefully placed the cards back into the Duel Plate, which snapped across his arm and formed a full playing mat in front of him in response to the activation. Sighing, he looked up at the sky and watched as the clouds above stone henge gathered and rain began to patter lightly onto the ground.

So this was the place he had seen in his vision. A spot where two vastly different worlds had momentarily connected once before, and where an ancient power was being housed. Now it seemed that the mystical power locked away within the ancient stones was in peril, Dartz would be sending his forces to destroy the stones as part of his own bid for power.

A bolt of lightening forked across the sky, and Dante peeled away the coat he had been wearing and tossed it away. Somewhere out there a great battle was being fort between the King of Games, Yugi and the man himself. That battle would decide the ultimate outcome of this secret war, but tonight in this place the only thing standing between victory or defeat was the young English champion.

He'd sent Tanya away with the crew of the aeroplane, under the pretence that she would have to take care of Bakura, who had used a lot of power in flight to save them and was now stuck in a deep sleep. They'd gone to the closest village and sought refuge like he told them, but not before she'd kissed him goodbye. He could still feel the heat from her lips on his if he thought about it. To his surprise he realised that this was something that had been building between them since they first met in the park back in America, and perhaps if he survived the night they'd take it further.

If he survived the night.

Out in the distance something stirred. He couldn't see them yet, but he knew that they were coming.

Dante's fingers fluttered through his deck and placed four warrior-type monsters onto the field. Shimmering with a faint haze they materialised around him, a routine of bodyguards. Then he played the Millennium Shield and Lightening Sword, equipping them onto himself and arming ready for battle. Night had fallen some time ago, and the moon cast an eerie glow over the surroundings.

Letting his gaze fall across the field, he saw a wave of monsters rise up and charge . . .

-----

Tanya sat beside the bedside of the young Japanese boy who was living a double life, she didn't understand much about what had been happening these past few days, but she knew that above all else Dante had wanted to keep the rarest card he owned from the hands of her former employer. Sponging Bakura's brow she settled back in her chair and reached into a pocket, sliding free the small piece of card that Dante had pressed into her hands before she had left, whilst they had kissed.

It was a Warrior-type monster, she knew that much. Tius the Holy Knight, Attack and defence were both marked at exactly 4000, and the special effect was to raise the attack of all warrior or spellcaster type cards currently in play by 1000 points. She didn't know what all the fuss was about, but looking at the card closely she thought that the hero depicted looked a little like Dante himself.

Closing her hand over the image, she hugged it to her chest and hoped that he was alright.

-----

Sliding through the mud, he parried an open thrust from an opponent and skewered the monster on the end of his blade, another tried to breathe fire over him but he jumped back with inches to spare and it only succeeded in scorching his right arm. Panting now, and almost out of breath, Dante surveyed the carnage. Twenty monsters had fallen under his blade at the last count, but his own warriors had all but been destroyed. One remained and he couldn't find a break in the combat long enough to summon more to the field. Unable to even finish that thought, he dived to one side and avoided a nasty axe that would have taken him out had his last monster not charged forward and taken the blow in his stead.

There were so many of them, an army of monsters that kept coming no matter how many he slew. A large creature that he didn't recognise gave him trouble for a moment, until he severed its neck with a well-timed blow and it shattered into pieces.

He was about to try and summon again, desperate for the aid now that he had to take the risk, when someone pushed him from behind and he fell into the mud. Rolling to his knees he spun around to see a girl with long purple hair, tied back into a ponytail carrying a scythe and garbed in a long trench coat. Strapped to one arm was what looked on first glance to be a Duel-plate, but on closer inspection it was a lot more streamlined in design and faintly organic. Now that plate was active and it glowed with a faint radiance that put Dante in mind of murky water.

"Dante." She smiled darkly and swung the scythe into a better position. "I said we'd meet again."

"Nadia." He grimaced, he'd been hoping that nobody human would be present. Killing monsters was one thing, but to kill another person . . . he wasn't sure if he could do such a thing, even if it was a choice between life and death.

She was leading the attack, he realised, her plate was shinning with enough light that she must be summoning every monster in the field. And here he was, all alone and without even a single warrior of his own to protect himself.

She brought the scythe around in a wide motion that shattered his Millennium Shield and pushed him further down into the mud. Rolling to his feet he used the sword to try and keep her away, but she continued to push her advantage further and further until his back hit one of the standing stones and suddenly there was nowhere left to run.

One blow knocked the sword from his hand and it shattered as it hit the ground, vanishing. Smiling, she brought the blade around for a second pass that would decapitate him, but just before it struck his neck a small furry creature appeared for a split second and took the brunt of the attack, shattering into pieces with a high pitched squeal. Nadia looked surprised, and faltered for a second, and Dante thanked god that he'd taken that one card from Tanya's collection back in her apartment in America.

Diving forwards, he tackled Nadia at the waist and they both went down, a fury of arms and legs as each tried to grapple the weapon away from the other. Using all his strength Dante ripped it from her fingers and pushed himself to his feet, the scythe poised to strike. One blow and he could finish it.

But he stopped, half way through the motion and gasped at what he had been about to do. Horrified with himself he threw the weapon aside and looked down at her.

"I can't do it. I can't take a life." He gasped for breath.

She stared up at him and was about to say something when her eyes bulged and she yelled "Look out!" as a roaring monster appeared behind him, one claw streaking towards him with enough might to reduce him to a smear in the mud. But something darted across the opening between the stones and cut the beast in half, stopping the roar mid-pitch and sending it into oblivion. Dante struggled to see through the half-light and the rain, but for a second he thought that he saw Black Luster Soldier smiling at him, and then he was gone again, back amidst the battle, cutting a path through the enemy.

Nadia got to her feet, and he turned to face her again. Reaching to her Duel-plate he braced himself for another monster or attack, but to his surprise she pulled it from her arm with considerable effort and threw it to the ground. There in the mud it sizzled nastily and remained.

"I'm through." She glared at him, and then she looked away in shame.

But the monsters didn't stop coming. Far from it, they appeared to double in size and number again and again until he was completely surrounded. Summoning one spell and trap after another Dante tried to keep them at bay, but nothing worked. Gripping Nadia's hand they retreated into the centre of the stones and braced themselves for their last stand.

"I don't see how the plate is still summoning. I took it off!" Nadia called through the rain, barely audible despite standing so close to him. "It shouldn't be able to do that!"

And neither did he. Summoning his last card, he handed her a Legendary Sword and the two watched as the monsters surged towards them through the night like some unstoppable wave.

-----

In the bedroom Tanya listened to the distant sounds of battle and the occasional sparks of light that flared through the window. Still holding the card close to her chest she felt tears running down her cheeks and realised she was crying for the first time since she was a little girl.

One of the windows began to rattle, but she took no notice of it, the wind was forceful with the storm.

She cried for Dante, wishing that he had stayed away, or that the two of them could have kept running. Things had seemed easier when they had been on the road. But at some point everyone had to stop running and face their fears.

She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and noticed that Tius was glowing.

With a suddenness that shocked her, the window blew open and the rain streamed in, followed by a blinding light that filled the room and pushed away the shadows of night. Standing so shocked, the card fell from her grasp and touched the floor, where it exploded into the shape of a man. Lifted off of her feet by invisible hands, she was held close to his face.

YOU HAVE A PURE HEART.

The voice was all around her, but it must have been coming from the man. She tried to back away but the hands held her and calmed her as best they could.

I WILL NOT HARM YOU. YOU WISH TO SAVE THE BOY.

She nodded and her hair bobbed around her face. Her wet cheeks felt ice cold.

THEN SAY MY NAME.

"Tius." She whispered to herself, and then in a stronger voice that filled the room, crammed with her hopes and her dreams she screamed it at the top of her lungs "Tius!"

-----

Nadia kicked away a demon and screamed as another raked a bloody gouge across her cheek. Unarmed, Dante darted forwards and physically pushed the thing from her, sending it stumbling back into the mass of writhing bodies that hissed and spat around them. At the centre of the standing stones there was roughly a meter of space around them, everything beyond that and as far as they eye could see was a mass of dark flesh.

He hoped that he'd brought Yugi enough time to do what had to be done. A few seconds more and there would be nothing standing between Dartz and the power hidden beneath Stone Henge.

Then suddenly world around Dante exploded into light so bright that he thought that the sun had risen. The monster closest to him opened its mouth to scream, then burst into a pillar of flame. Like lightening, the light bounced from monster to monster, frying them until at last there were none to be seen. For a moment he could have sworn that he saw the outline of a figure on the horizon, and then as the first rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon, he wrapped himself in a large cloak and vanished.

"The Holy Knight." He whispered, and looked at Nadia whose gaze was similarly riveted to the rising sun. The Duel-plate that she had discarded cracked and split, a sigh of escaping power echoed around the now deserted hillside, and the plate melted into slag.

She stepped away from him and began to cry. A strange sight considering that she had seemed such a violently strong woman, but then he realised that his eyes were filled with tears too. After everything that they had seen and done this night, maybe it was the best thing to do. Sitting in the grass he lay back against one of the stones and sprawled in the sunlight.

He didn't know anything for sure, but he felt deep down that it was over. Somewhere out there Yugi had defeated the mastermind behind all of this, and as for Dante's own small part in the drama, it was almost certain that he would at last be able to get the rest he so desperately wanted all of a sudden.

Something underneath him was making him uncomfortable, and he reached one hand around behind his head to feel the familiar shape of a card. Pulling it out he flipped it over and revealed the Black Luster Soldier. HIS card. The card that allowed him to overcome all obstacles in the greatest card game imaginable and no player had defeated him.

A slow smile spread across his face.

Maybe it wasn't over. After all, there was a future with Tanya to look forward to, and there was always that duel with Kaiba . . .


End file.
